The Tribune

THE Bahamas National Trust (BNT) has a long history of pioneering innovative educational programmes for Bahamian youth, in hopes that they are nurturing future ecologists and environmentalists.

The Discovery Club, which is the youth arm of the BNT is no different, with over 40 clubs on New Providence, Abaco, Grand Bahama, Andros, Eleuthera, Exuma, Cat Island and Inagua.

The BNT Discovery Club recently celebrated its annual awards and badge ceremony, where 176 students from Freeport and Nassau were granted badges for successfully completing various programmes. Students from ages 7-12 were presented with environmental badges in the following categories: National Parks, Fish, Flora, Bugs, Endangered Species, Shells and Herpetology.

“Discovery Club prepares students to be excellent stewards of our environment and we are very proud of all of them who have worked hard to achieve their badges,” said Lynn Gape, BNT deputy executive director, who welcomed the students, parents and Discovery Club leaders at the ceremony in Nassau.

Jasmine Wilchcombe, a recent graduate of Marine Biology from the University of St Andrews, Scotland UK, is the BNT’s Discovery club coordinator. She gave the closing remarks at the ceremony in Nassau and in her speech, she congratulated the students on a job well done and told them she looked forward to seeing them receive more badges at next year’s event.

At the sister event in Freeport, BNT Executive Director Eric Carey gave the welcoming address and expressed his delight in the programme, stressing the importance of younger generations being educated about protecting the environment.

Cecilia Bodie, BNT education officer in Grand Bahama, sent special recognition to all of the schools enrolled and thanked the club facilitators for their hard work over the course of the year.

“We could not run the clubs in our schools without the dedication, interest and commitment of our school leaders,” she said.

Schools participating in the Discovery Club ceremonies were: (Nassau) Temple Christian, St John’s College, EP Roberts, Lyford Cay School, Nassau Christian Academy, St Andrews School, St Cecilia’s; (Freeport) Bartlett Hill Primary, Freeport Gospel Chapel, and Mary Star of the Sea Catholic School.

The Discovery Club programme focuses on allowing students to explore nature, while teaching them new skills. Club activities are fun-filled and school based, additionally, students are granted regular visits to National Parks and an annual camping trip at the end of the year.